6.04.2014

EVENT ALERTS: NEW YORK AND PHILLY ARE POPPING AND HOPPING WITH ENERGY THIS WEEK - SO GET OUT AND ENJOY!

-->By Gloria Dulan-WilsonThe next five days are going to be nothing but non-stop activities. I am by no means trying to list everything that's going on - just some of the highlights that caught my attention:

This is a one time only event put together through the ingenuity of Ms. Lisa Hopkins and the children at the John B. Kelly Elementary School at 5116 Pulaski Ave (at Hansberry), in Philadelphia; 6:00 PMFor tix call: 215-884-6998 or email lisayhop@msn.comThis is a treasure you won't want to miss as these beautiful kids come together to give their interpretation of THE LION KING. Come out and support them - Our Children Are Beautiful, Talented, Creative, Special, Precious and Smart. Show them the love and support they deserve.Presented by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund JUNE 7, 2014

NEW YORK CITY: JOEL OSTEEN NIGHT OF HOPE AT YANKEE STADIUM

Finally, it's June 7, 2014 and Joel and Victoria Osteen's Night of Hope returns to New York City. They kicked off their first Night of Hope here at Yankee Stadium, to a packed audience. This will be the third one that I've attended, and they never fail to uplift and encourage. If you're looking to do something to set the rest of your life off on a good foot, this is definitely a great way to start. See you there!! Stay Blessed - GDW

Odunde Festival = HAPPY NEW YEAR!

One of the largest and most longstanding African-American street festivals in the nation

Odunde is one of the largest community-based street festivals in the nation. Credit: M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia

Description - Dates: June 4-8, 2014

Overview

The annual Odunde Street Festival brings a genuine taste of Africa
to South Street and one of Philadelphia’s oldest, historically
African-American neighborhoods. This year, as the landmark festival celebrates its 39th anniversary,
it becomes a five-day abundance of cultural, historical and
family-friendly events that’s expected to draw nearly 500,000 people and
cover 12 city blocks.

Events

A variety of events are slated to take place at various locales
throughout the city, beginning on Wednesday, June 4 with an Odunde365
talk from influential Philadelphians at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.Thursday, June 5, festivities moves to Ms. Tootsies for the
Odunde365 Networking Mixer, and on Friday, June 6, City Hall welcomes
ambassadors from Senegal, Granada, Ivory Coast and the African Union. Come the weekend, events include a Guinness World Record-sized Zumba Class and the African Family Day at the Please Touch Museum on Saturday, June 7 and the blockbuster festival/street fair on Sunday, June 8.The festival begins with a procession to the Schuylkill River, where
prayers are offered and blessings bestowed. The procession then returns
to South Street for the start of the street festival.The enormous street fair covers 12 blocks, features more than 100
food and artisan vendors and is one of the largest community-based
street festivals in the country taking over streets from 23rd and
Lombard to Grays Ferry and Christian, and along South Street from 20th
to 24th streets. For a full list of events, click the button below. Odunde Events

Come Prepared: Festival streets will be closed to traffic and parking, so consider taking public transportation.

Don’t Miss: Odunde’s authentic African Marketplace features vendors from around the world, including the Caribbean and Brazil.

Outsider Tip:Odunde is a Yoruba word that means “Happy New Year.” Every year,
Odunde draws vendors from not only America but from Ghana, Nigeria,
Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, and Guinea.

JUNE 12 - 14

OIC CELEBRATION AND CONFERENCE

Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan Founder of OIC America & International

OIC 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Pennsylvania Convention Center

For the uninitiated OIC stands for Opportunities Industrialization Center - and was founded in Philadelphia 50 years ago by the great Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan. He developed a program that was both national and international in scope that provided marketable skills for African Americans in Philadelphia - initially - who were locked out of the job market because of the lack of the necessary skills for particular job opportunities and crafts. His program was so successful it quickly spread throughout the US, with centers in more than 144 cities.

Rev. Sullivan with Philadelphia School Children

He later expanded the program to those
peaceful countries in Africa looking to ensure their own people were
able to provide the skills and services necessary for growing
economies. He subsequently developed the "Sullivan Principles" by which
these countries are guided in their interaction. Progress Plaza, which
is a Black owned commercial center is just one of the many wonderful
things that was established by Rev. Sullivan during his prolific
lifetime among us.

The Hon. Nelson Mandela and Rev. Leon Sullivan in South Africa

***Just so you'll know, Rev. LeonSullivan was a personal hero of mine. I met him several times after having graduated from Lincoln University. I lived not too far from his church; and actually tried to learn use a power sewing machine - didn't do so well at that. Nevertheless, I think that the evidence of his faith through his works is exemplary. And I have a major concern that OIC is not being adequately supported or recognized for all that it has done, and continues to do. This is a true Philadelphia Treasure - not to mention a national treasure - and definitely needs to be better supported and expanded - We have a tendency to take too many of our own accomplishments for granted. Stay Blessed - GDW

June 13, 2014: Prayer Breakfast - 7:30AM - 9:30AM

June 14, 2014: Black Tie Anniversary Gala: 7:00 PM

Keynote Speaker: Rev. Al Sharpton

Rev. Al Sharpton

Lifetime achievement Award recipient: Congressman John Lewis

Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, Founder

“Build
Brother Build” is the title of Reverend Leon H. Sullivan’s book
detailing the birth and development of Opportunities Industrialization
Centers (OIC). It is also the philosophy by which he governed his life.Born in Charleston, West Virginia, on October 16, 1922, Leon H.
Sullivan became a Baptist minister at age 18. He graduated from West
Virginia State College and the Columbia University Union Theological
Seminary in New York City.He eventually moved to Philadelphia to become pastor of the Zion
Baptist Church in 1950. From the pulpit, he could clearly see the needs
of his community. Thousands were unemployed and yet thousands of jobs
were vacant. Rev. Sullivan believed that jobs were the key to the
economic development and true empowerment of African Americans rather
than a dependence upon public assistance.Sullivan organized 400 other ministers and launched a “selective
patronage” campaign whose main purpose was to boycott the
Philadelphia-based companies that did not practice equal opportunity in
employment. The boycott opened up more than 4,400 jobs to African
Americans, yet many still needed to be trained and prepared for those
jobs.In order to insure that those individuals who got a job possessed the
skills to keep the job, Rev. Sullivan founded the very first OIC
training center in 1964 in an abandoned jailhouse in North Philadelphia.
The dilapidated building was renovated using donations from people in
the community and an anonymous grant. The OIC provided job and life
skills training and matched its graduates with the employment needs of
Philadelphia businesses. The undertaking was a huge success, and the
programs were quickly replicated in cities across the United States
providing comprehensive employment training and placement for
disadvantaged, unemployed and unskilled Americans of all races. In 1969,
OIC International was created to provide employment-training services
on a global scale based on the OIC philosophy of “self-help”. In 1970,
Rev. Sullivan established OIC of America, Inc. to serve as the national
headquarters to OIC Affiliates and the technical assistance center for
communities replicating the OIC model.